Performance and Passing Rate Differences of African American and White Prospective Teachers on Praxis[TM] Examinations: A Joint Project of the National Education Association (NEA) and Educational Testing Service (ETS). Research Report. ETS RR-11-08

This report focuses on two aspects of teacher supply and quality: (a) the under-representation of racial/ethnic minorities, especially African Americans in the teaching pool, and (b) teacher candidates' performance on licensure assessments, including general skills tests in reading, writing, and mathematics (known as Praxis I[R]) and selected tests covering areas of content and pedagogy (known as Praxis II[R]). The report presents trends in the overall and minority teaching workforce, utilizes some of the available Praxis[TM] program data, combined with interviews of faculty and students involved in college and university teacher preparation programs, to address supply, achievement, and performance gaps between prospective minority and White teachers. African American candidates are the focal group in this report, in order to gauge the effect that Praxis has on the supply of prospective African American teachers and to generate ideas for closing gaps. Other minority Praxis test-taking populations in the selected states are not included because these are not large enough to produce sufficient data from which to make valid inferences. Appended are: (1) Primer on Standard Setting; (2) Description of Selected Background Variables and Classifications Used in the Quantitative Analyses of Praxis I and Selected Praxis II Tests; (3) Statistical Formulas; (4) Summary of Regression Analyses Using Praxis I and Selected Praxis II Tests and Background Information Questionnaire (BIQ) Variables; (5) Script Inviting Campuses to Participate in the Joint Research Project of the National Education Association (NEA) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) to Understand Achievement Gaps in Teacher Licensure and Certification Tests; (6) National Education Association (NEA)/Educational Testing Service (ETS) Interview Guides; and (7) Lloyd Bond Findings and Recommendations. (Contains 31 tables and 11 notes.)